I went to one of my first and favorite coin shows today that has been in operation since 1960. Plenty of good dealers and coins on the bourse floor. But also a number of numismatic traps. You walk the floor of a coin show and there are inevitably coins that upon first inspection look fine, like you would do well buying the coin, getting it certified and then selling at a tidy profit. Some examples today: a great looking proof Barber dime that is otherwise PR63/64 but on closer inspection turns out to have a slight hairline scratch. Dealer says it is probably in the die, but when shown to a former NGC and PCGS grader, who says they might grade it PR61 on a really good day because it is a staple scratch, the dealer admits his mistake. A $10 Liberty in an MS63 ANACS holder that looks mark free and a lock MS64 plus. Upon presentation for the former grader for inspection, he is quite clear something has been done to alter the surfaces, not dipped per se, but altered. There are many uncertified coin traps out there that are in dealers cases waiting for the unsuspecting. Will they grade? That is the big question. As has been said numerous times before, there is no free lunch in this hobby.
Great posting. I have seen the same thing in every show I have attended. My first bad experience was when I was young. I purchased a proof 1950 dime. Later to be told it was whizzed. Those were the days before slabs. There are only two operating certification companies I trust. The revised ANA is not one of them.
Thank the good lord I ain't in this game for 'profit' for if it were so I'd soon lose interest in collecting.......
Another dealer who had a lot of frankly rare coins that would be worth near what he was asking if they could conceivably grade, but clearly the early Bust material and other very hard to find coins will not grade, even apparent to my relatively inexperienced eye. It looked like this same dealer had tried a few of his rare coins at SEGS, and even they did not grade without various unflattering details comments. From another dealer I looked at a virtually gem proof Trade dollar with toning the dealer admitted was artificial. So we had a back and forth whether it would be possible to have NCS or other experienced conservator remove the toning without affecting the merits of the coin so that it would grade. It was considered doubtful.
I thought you were going to post a pic. of a coin laying in the middle of a bear trap. j.k. Not sure how the show is set up. But I also find that the lighting at some places are terrible for looking at coins. And of course a dealer may not supply you with a lighted magnifier at their table. But details like scratches or damages on a coin should be disclosed on high dollar items. Even if they don't make the sale it makes the dealer look more reputable.
Incandescent or scattered lighting is one of the worst for accurately looking at coins. The painful thing about buying coins is realizing you have made a mistake and whether the dealer saw it or did not see it he/she may not want to buy it back or expect that the embarrassment of going back to him/her is a sufficient barrier to a return. There are dealers who know exactly what the problems are on their raw coins and disclose as little as possible. And there is often no real recourse except the willingness of the dealer to negotiate a buy back price.
Just remember this - with older raw coins, 80% of them are problem coins of one kind or another. So when you go wandering through a coin show, or a dealer's shop, or on ebay, or some web site, or anywhere else, looking at raw coins and trying to cherrypick one that you think you can get graded and score a tidy profit on - your chances of doing that are slim to none. First of all there's only 2 out of 10 raw coins (older coins) out there that will even get into a regular slab. And only a tiny fraction of those few stand any chance of grading higher and being sold for more than what you pay for them raw. Numismatic traps ? No, hardly so. More like numismatic normal, usual, par for the course, numismatic to be expected !
One defintion of "trap" is "something by which someone is caught unawares"(Merriam-Webster). So I think it meets that criteria. You walk the bourse floor, raw coins are abundant with all types of flattering notations on the cardboard or plastic holder; "super-slider"; PQ+++; looks mint state 64!!!; extremely rare variety!; "population 5"; Gem BU!. You examine the coins, maybe the dealer missed something, by the way. He is a good poker player, you pride yourself on your discernment, knowledge, grading skills, etc., but the dealer's knowledge and word should count for something. You write a check or profer cash for a negotiated deal and you actually have a chance to score mucho dinerio with a little luck. But the downside risk is also considerable. So I would say there are traps in the sense that unless you have excellent grading skills and requisite shrewdness, you could lose a lot; much better than ordering online or from an ad. At the coin show you can get second opinions.
If you want to call them traps, OK, whatever. But if you do what I told you and remember what I told you, you can walk right by most of those traps and never worry about falling in
Is your entire collection based upon what can get " a grade"? No doubt that if you are trying to put together a nice set then you want nice coins for said set, however it is up to you the buying to research and study to pick out those coins. That said, if a dealer obviously lies to you about something which would be hard to prove in most cases, then simply do not do business with that dealer again. "Coin collecting" is a hobby and should be treated as such, i.e. you collect what you like for your collection. I have more than a few coins in my collection that would never grade but I did not pay a lot for them and they are special, i.e. I like them! If I wanted to put together a set of higher end coins, then I would not bother cherry picking dealers stock until I was confident and knowledgeable enough to do so. If you fall into one of these traps I think it would be due to your own ignorance. Most collectors I know have fallen into one of those "traps" at one point (myself included), but almost every time it was due to ignorance or arrogance. Until you reach a point where you can tell the difference I would invest some time studying, reading and buying already graded coins.
If you compare this field with antiques, stamp collecting, etc., clearly the same rules apply. Ever watch Antiques Roadshow or the many similar programs? Items are valued based on current market by trained professionals. That is the key--credentials and reliability. Not every coin dealer knows the value of what he carries based on an honest appraisal of his coins, currency, etc.. The warning to "never do business again" with someone who was unreliable before and forget about a transaction where there was possibly a misunderstanding, a lack of clarity or even deception is not the best advice. Dealers have bad days or confusion, and will usually come to an understanding with customers for the good of all concerned.
I didn't say unreliable, I said "obviously lies". I know of a dealer who buys problem slabbed coins, cracks them out and sells them to unsuspecting customers as problem free coins. He knows exactly what he is doing and flat out lies to his customers. That is the kind of dealer I was referring too, not someone who made an honest mistake.
Problem coins are just everyday stuff at any show or shop. That's the normal. They are only traps to those that don't understand what they are doing.
